COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse team (6-0) plays host to No. 14 North Carolina (4-3) in a critical Atlantic Coast Conference game on Saturday, March 23 at noon at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.

• The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.com with Booker Coorigan handling the play-by-play and Ryan Flanagan providing the analysis.

• Maryland is coming off of a 10-7 victory at Villanova on Sunday, March 13. Sophomore Jay Carlson set his career-high with five goals to lead the Terps’ offense vs. the Wildcats. Junior goalie Niko Amato returned to his hometown and made 11 saves. On the season senior Kevin Cooper, who had five points on a goal and four assists at Villanova, leads the Terps with 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists, which also leads the team. Carlson has 12 goals on the year to tie for the team lead. Amato is ranked third in the NCAA with a 6.48 goals-against average and is fourth with a .602 save percentage. Sophomore Charlie Raffa leads the team with 38 groundballs and is ranked sixth nationally with a .613 faceoff winning percentage.

• Carolina as alternated wins and losses throughout this season, starting with a 16-8 home win over Air Force and most recently a 13-5 win over Dartmouth yesterday in Chapel Hill for a 4-3 record. The Tar Heels have played four one-goal games already this season and are 2-2 in those tight games with wins over Fairfield and Princeton and losses to UMass and Notre Dame (in 3OT). The Tar Heels’ offense is led by senior attackman Marcus Holman who has 32 points on 18 goals and 14 assists. Sophomore attackmen Joey Sankey and Jimmy Bitter are close behind with 25 and 23 points, respectively. All-American R.G. Keenan has a .547 winning percentage at the faceoff X and leads the Tar Heels with 45 groundballs. Freshman goalie Kieran Burke has started all seven games in net for Carolina and has a .511 save percentage and a 10.18 goals-against average.

The Count Down
10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 99 of the 108 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .917 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 115-25 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .821 winning percentage.
8 … As a team, the Terps are ranked among the top five in eight statistical categories by the NCAA.
7 … Kevin Cooper has seven multi-goal games during his Terrapin career.
6 … The Terps have won their first six games for the first time since 2010.
5 … Michael Ehrhardt has recorded five groundballs in four of the Terps’ six games in 2013.
4 … John Haus leads all current Terps with four career goals vs. North Carolina.
3 … Niko Amato is ranked third in the NCAA with a 6.48 goals-against average.
2 … John Tillman has won two games and lost two games to UNC as the Terps’ head coach.
1 … Jay Carlson is ranked first in the NCAA in shooting percentage, convering on 66.7 percent of his shots.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his sixth season as a head coach, and third with the Terps, with a 51-30 career record for a 63.0 winning percentage. Tillman is 31-11 (.738) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Joe Breschi is in his 15th season as a head coach and holds a lifetime record of 142-87 (.620). He is in his fourth year with the Tar Heels and has a 50-24 (.676) record as the Carolina head coach.

• Tillman has an 2-2 record vs. North Carolina as a head coach with all three decisions coming as the Maryland head coach..

Series History vs. North Carolina
• Since Maryland and North Carolina began their series in 1964, Maryland holds a 40-22 (.650) advantage. The Terps have won 16 of the last 21, but Carolina has won the last three in the series, including the last time the two teams met at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.

• Last season No. 14 North Carolina defended its home field with an 11-10 win over No. 7 Maryland on March 24. Billy Gribbinscored three goals for the Terps and Joe Cummings had four points on two goals and two assists, but the Tar Heels were able to pull out the victory behind three goals from freshman Joey Sankey.

• The rubber match of 2011 took play at Fetzer Field in the first round of the NCAA tournament and it was the unseeded Terps advancing thanks to a convincing 13-6 victory over the No. 8-seeded Tar Heels. Drew Snider led the offensive charge, including scoring on the hidden-ball play pulled off by Grant Catalino and Brian Farrell. Kevin Cooper had a hat trick for the Terrapins, while Curtis Holmes dominated the faceoff X, winning 15-of-22. Niko Amato made 13 saves in cage.

• Just like in 2010 the Terps answered a regular season loss to Carolina with a victory in the ACC tournament. UNC led 6-2 going into the fourth quarter, but Maryland scored five unanswered goals for a 7-6 win. Owen Blye scored two goals in the run, which was capped off by a behind-the-back game-winner by Grant Catalino.

• The 2011 regular-season meeting saw North Carolina come into Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium and leave with an 11-6 victory. The Terps opened up a 4-1 lead in the first quarter, but an illegal stick penalty on Maryland allowed the Tar Heels to regain their composure and go on a 7-0 run to take command of the game. Grant Catalino led the Terps with three goals.Curtis Holmes was terrific at the face-off X, winning 15-of-20 draws.

• The Terps avenged the loss in the 2010 regular season to UNC by topping the Tar Heels, 13-5, in the semifinals of the ACC tournament in College Park. Grant Catalino led the way, tying his career high with six goals. John Haus tallied his first career hat trick for the Terps. Brian Phipps was terrific in cage for Maryland, stopping 13 Carolina shots.

• In the 2010 regular-season meeting it was Carolina earning a 9-7 victory over the Terps on March 20 in Chapel Hill. Marcus Holman subbed for the injured Billy Bitter and scored four goals to lead UNC. Maryland was paced by Ryan Young and Adam Sear with two goals apiece.

• The Tar Heels scored 10 goals in the first half en route to a 16-10 win in the semifinals of the 2009 ACC Tournament at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill. Joe Cummings recorded his first career hat trick for the Terps, while Ryan Young had a three-point day on a goal and two assists.

• Earlier in 2009 the Terps and the Tar Heels played a nail-biter at Ludwig Field and in the end it was Maryland coming away with the 8-7 victory. Dan Groot scored three goals, including the game-winner that deflected off of two Carolina defender sticks, and added an assist. Grant Catalino chipped in with two goals, while Jason Carter played the whole way in cage and stopped 10 Tar Heel shots.

• The Terps entered the 2008 game as the underdog for the first time since 2000, but left the game with their sixth straight victory over the Tar Heels, 13-8. Junior midfielder Jeff Reynolds scored his first career hat trick to lead the Terps. Grant Catalino, Dan Groot, Jeremy Sieverts and Max Ritz each had a goal and an assist in the Maryland victory.

• The Maryland midfield dominated the 2007 game and le the Terps to an impressive 14-8 win over a rising Carolina team at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. Sophomore midfielder Dan Groot led the Terrapin attack with three goals for his second career hat trick. Freshman goalie Brian Phipps was stellar in the cage for Maryland, stopping 15 Tar Heel shots, while allowing just seven goals.

• The Tar Heels led for nearly the entire game in the 2006 ACC semifinals, but Xander Ritz scored off a brilliant cross-crease pass from Michael Phipps with just 1:25 left in the fourth quarter to give the third-ranked Terps their first lead of the game and the 10-9 victory. Brendan Healy scored three goals and added a pair of assists for Maryland, while Ritz finished with a hat trick and Bill McGlone scored two and assisted on another two scores.

• In the 2006 regular season meeting Joe Walters scored five goals to lead the No. 4 Terps to a 9-6 win at North Carolina on March 25. Sophomore attackman Max Ritz added two goals, while Bill McGlone and Michael Phipps each scored one. Defensively, Harry Alford stopped eight shots and allowed just six goals in net for the Terps.

• Terrapin goalie Harry Alford stopped 20 UNC shots in the 2005 meeting to lead the fourth-ranked Terps to a 9-4 win over Carolina in College Park. Michael Hartofilis turned in the finest performance of his Maryland career with a goal and a career-best three assists. Brendan Healy, Michael Phipps and Joe Walters each scored twice in the Maryland win.

• The 2004 meeting in Chapel Hill saw Maryland pick up a thrilling 10-9 victory at Fetzer Field on March 27. The Tar Heels used a five-goal third quarter to take a 8-7 lead into the fourth, but two goals by Maryland’s Mike Brown and another by Joe Walters gaves the Terps a 3-1 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter and the 10-9 win. Walters finished the game with four goals, while Michael Phipps scored two goals in the victory.

• In the 2003 game at Byrd Stadium, No. 13 North Carolina upset the No. 2 Terps as goalie Paul Spellman had a career-game with 25 saves. Joe Walters scored two goals for the Terps in the defeat. Bill McGlone also added a tally in the win. UNC was paced by Austin Garrison, who had four goals.

• Eight of the last 20 meetings with North Carolina have been decided by one goal.

• The Terps and Tar Heels have only met twice in NCAA tournament play. Maryland lost the first meeting with the Heels in 1986, 12-10, but won the 2011 first round game, 13-6.

The Stretch: Carolina, Virginia, Navy, Hopkins
• Since 1978 Maryland’s schedule has been highlighted by a four-game stretch in the middle of its season: North Carolina, Virginia, Navy and Johns Hopkins. In the 36-year span only four times has the stretch been interrupted with another game added in between one of these traditional four (1981, 1997, 2001, 2003).

• Overall, Maryland is 64-76 (.457) since 1978 vs. those four teams during that time.

• The Terps have swept the four games only once – in 1987. Only twice (1981 & 1988) has Maryland lost all four games. Six times (1978, 1979, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001) the Terps have won three of the four games. Johns Hopkins broke up the Terps’ bid for a perfect stretch four times, while Carolina and Virginia broke it up one time each.

Maryland As The No. 1 Team
• The Terps took over the top spot in the USILA Coaches’ Poll on Feb. 18 after two impressive wins to open the 2013 season. The Terps became the outright No. 1 team in the country on Feb. 25 following their 12-10 victory at then-No. 1 Loyola on Feb. 23. This marks the ninth time Maryland has earned the No. 1 ranking since 1986.

• Overall, Maryland has played 26 games as the No. 1-ranked team and is 18-8 in those games.

• This season, the Terps have played three games as the nation’s outright top team and is 3-0, defeating Duke, 16-7, in Durham on March 2, topping Stony Brook, 13-7, at home on March 10 and going on the road to beat Villanova, 10-7, on March 16.

• The last time the Terps were the nation’s top team was in April of 2004. Maryland’s two-week run at the top of the polls ended with a 9-6 loss to No. 4 Navy in College Park.

• This season’s ranking is also the earliest the Terps have achieved the No. 1 ranking in a season. Previous to this week, the earliest Maryland was ranked No. 1 was March 10, 2006.

• The longest Maryland has held on to the No. 1 ranking was seven weeks in 1987. That streak came to an end with a 13-8 loss to No. 4 Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Semifinals.

Get To 10 And Win
• One axiom of lacrosse is that if you score 10 goals or more your chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there’s not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it’s an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 99 of the 108 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .917 winning percentage.

• Maryland scored 10, but fell at North Carolina, 11-10, on March 24, 2012 and again came out on the losing end, despite scoring 11 in a 13-11 loss at Colgate on May 5, 2012. The Terps scored 11 vs. Johns Hopkins on April 16, 2011, but the Blue Jays won the game in overtime, 12-11. On April 3 of last season the Terps lost to No. 1 Virginia by a final of 11-10, giving Maryland its only loss when scoring 10 or more goals in 2010. In 2009 the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision.

Holding Opponents To Single-Digits
• The Terps have been extremely impressive (winning 91.7 percent of its games since 2002) when it scores 10 or more goals, they have been nearly as impressive when holding opponents to less than 10 goals during that span.

• Since 2002 Maryland is 115-25 in games, for a .821 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 186 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 75.3 percent of the time.

Shooting Tells The Story
• The difference between winning and losing for Maryland this season is simple – when the Terps shoot well they win. As it turns out 30% is the magic number for the Terps this season. Maryland is 6-0 on the year and has shot 30% or better in its six victories.

• Since 2005 the Terps are a remarkable 61-4 (.938) when shooting 30% or better in a game. The only four losses were: 13-10 to Georgetown in 2009 (the Terps shot 10 of 30 for 33.3% vs. the Hoyas), 11-10 to No. 1 Virginia on April 3, 2010 (10 of 33 for 30.3%), 12-11 in overtime on April 16, 2011 to No. 3 Johns Hopkins (11 of 28 for 39.3%) and 13-11 at Colgate on May 5, 2012 (11 of 31 for 35.5%).

• If 30% is the benchmark, then 40% shooting is in a class all to itself and Maryland has shot 40% or better in 14 games since the start of the 2008 season. Out of those 14 games, Maryland shot 50% or better in four of them.

Three Terps Named To Tewaaraton Watch List
• Senior midfielders Jesse Bernhardt and John Haus are joined by junior goalie Niko Amato on the 2013 Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The Terrapin trio are three of 92 selections on the Watch List.

• The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and top female college lacrosse player in the United States. The selection committees are made up of top collegiate coaches and are appointed annually by The Tewaaraton Foundation. Committees will make additions to these lists as the season progresses and athletes earn a spot along side these elite players. The lists will be narrowed to 25 men’s and women’s nominees in late April. In mid-May, five men’s and five women’s finalists will be announced. These finalists will be invited to Washington, D.C. for the 13th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony, May 30 at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.

The 700 Club
· Maryland’s 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program’s 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men’s lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy and Army as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

· Two things that make Maryland’s accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

Terps’ 88th Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 742-249-4 (.747), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 87 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 12-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field.

• During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland’s win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage. So far, Maryland is 25-9 in the 2010’s for a .735 winning percentage.

Terps On ESPNU
• Maryland has had 44 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 25-19 (.568) all-time in games broadcast on ESPNU.

• The Terps are scheduled to play five games (at Duke (W, 16-7), vs. UMBC, at Virginia, vs. Johns Hopkis and the ACC tournament semifinals) on ESPNU in 2013.

Going Purple
· Once again this season, the Terps will be wearing purple “MY” stickers, to show their support for the fight against pancreatic cancer, which touched everyone in the Maryland lacrosse familywith the passing of Maria Young on April 17, 2011.

· This past fall the Terps, Maryland alums and family and friends came together for the inaugural Forever Young Walk/Run for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness. More on Ms. Young and her amazing story can be found here: Forever Young.

· If you’re interested in more information about the Lustgarten Foundation, including how to make a donation, click here to visit the foundation’s website. You can also get more information on pancreatic cancer at CurePC.org.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about pancreatic cancer from the American Cancer Society:
· More than 43,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer present each year
· There are more than 36,000 deaths from pancreatic cancer each year
· The lifetime risk of having pancreatic cancer is about 1 in 71.
· The risk is about the same for both men and women.

Going Gray
· Maryland players will also be wearing gray stickers with the number 42 in honor of Zack Wholley’s father, John, who passed away from brain cancer on August 28, 2011.

· If you’re interested in more information, please visit the National Brain Tumor Society website.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about brain and spinal cord tumors from the American Cancer Society:
· About 22,910 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord (12,630 in males and 10,280 in females) will be diagnosed. These numbers would likely be much higher if benign tumors were also included.
· About 13,700 people (7,720 males and 5,980 females) will die from these tumors.
· Overall, the chance that a person will develop a malignant tumor of the brain or spinal cord in his or her lifetime is about one in 150 for a man and one in 185 for a woman.

Going Teal
• Maryland players will also be wearing teal stickers in honor of Andrew Walsh’s mother, Gia, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Here are some facts about ovarian cancer from the American Cancer Society and the Ovarian Cancer Institute:
· Ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers.
· Ovarian cancer will strike over 20,000 women this year.
· It ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.
· Ovarian cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in women. A woman’s risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 71.
· Currently, there are no effective means of early detection.
· Only 25% of cases are diagnosed early before the cancer has spread to the pelvic region. For these women, the 5-year survival rate is 90%.

Consecutive 10-Win Seasons
• Maryland’s 10-9 win over the Lehigh on May 11, 2012 extended the Terps’ streak of double-digit win seasons to 10. (Special thanks to Patrick Stevens of the D1scource.com).

• How does Maryland’s string of 10+ win seasons stack up against the rest of the college lacrosse programs? Take a look at programs with at least six-straight 10-win seasons:

• Cornell’s string of seven-straight 10+ win seasons came to an end in 2012 with a 9-4 final mark.

Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has an 84-3-1 (.960) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 19 openers and 26 of the last 27, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

20 Straight in Season Openers
• After beating Mount St. Mary’s to open the 2013 season the Terps have an 20-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary’s (twice), Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (four times), Bellarmine (twice), Presbyterian, Detroit Mercy and Hartford. Over the 20-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 290-105 (an average score of 14.5-5.3) in those games.

• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 20 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

A Family Affair
· Many school’s refer to their sports programs as families, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse program is truely a family affair. Since 2002, the Terps have had 13 sets of brothers, including three on this season’s roster, don the red and black together for at least one season.

Five Taken In MLL Draft
• Led by senior long pole Jesse Bernhardt, a record-tying five Maryland men’s lacrosse student-athletes were chosen in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft.• Bernhardt was chosen fourth overall by the Chesapeake Bayhawks, becoming the second-highest Terrapin ever drafted in the MLL (Joe Walters, first overall selection in 2006). He is just the seventh Maryland player to be taken in the first round, joining Lee Zink (2004, 5th), Chris Passavia (2004, 6th), Walters, Bill McGlone (2006, 5th), Ray Megill (2007, 9th) and Joe Cinosky (2008, 9th).

• Senior midfielder John Haus was the next Terrapin off the board, going to the Hamilton Nationals in the second round with the 15th overall selection. Haus was followed by senior midfielder Kevin Cooper, who went to the Bayhawks with the 16th overall pick.

• The Denver Outlaws, which already has three Terps on its roster (Zink, Jeremy Sieverts and Drew Snider), were then next MLL squad to take a Maryland player, selecting senior midfielder Landon Carr with the 23rd overall selection.

• The fifth Terp to be selected was senior attackman Owen Blye with the very next pick by the Charlotte Hounds.

• The five players selected ties the school record for most players taken in the MLL draft. The 2011 senior class also had five players taken – Brian Farrell, Brett Schmidt, Dan Burns, Grant Catalino and Ryan Young.

• Maryland’s 2013 senior class also features redshirt senior midfielder Jake Bernhardt, who was selected by the Nationals with the 12th overall selection in the 2012 MLL collegiate draft.

2013 Team Captains
• Three players have been named team captains for the 2013 season. The trio, which was selected by a combination of team vote and coaches’ input, consists of seniors Jake Bernhardt, Jesse Bernhardt and Owen Blye. All three return as team captains from the 2012 squad.